You've Got the Love I Need to See Me Through
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: "Let's go to the zoo." Chloe suggests. Aubrey wrinkles her nose. "It's too hot." She protests again. "You want to walk around in this humidity?" "We can take a picnic." Chloe says. "And you've never even been! It'll be fun!" (fluff)


**Disclaimer**: Not mine, unfortunately. Title comes from the song of the same name by Florence + the Machine

**A/N: **So I really just needed to write something that was pure fluff, since I feel like I always put Aubrey and Chloe through so much. So this is what I came up with. Stole the prompt from tumblr and, as per usual, this story is dedicated to thefutillitarian, who is my partner when it comes to worrying about cats in jars. I hope you enjoy!

**"You've Got the Love I Need to See Me Through" **

"Go away." Aubrey Posen mumbles into the fabric of her pillow, keeping her eyes shut and the covers pulled up around her shoulders. "It's Saturday. I want to sleep."

Normally, Chloe Beale would be the one begging to stay in bed long after the sun had come up and the day had begun. But the tables have (unfortunately in Aubrey's opinion) turned and Chloe tries to tug the stubborn Aubrey out from beneath the covers.

"Come on." Chloe whines, poking her girlfriend in the shoulder. "You can sleep in Sunday. Get up." She tugs at Aubrey but to no avail. "Please…" She pouts.

Aubrey mumbles something but refuses to move from her previously comfortable position. She's unfortunately awake now but that doesn't mean she's going to give up without a fight.

Chloe stands up and bounces, hoping to appeal to Aubrey's more type A personality, which would most definitely not condone bouncing on the bed. "Wake up Bree." She says with another bounce. "I even made breakfast." Chloe drops back down onto the bed and lays across Aubrey's back.

"Ugh, you're like a little kid." Aubrey groans, finally rolling over and looking at Chloe. "Okay, I'm awake. Are you happy now?"

Chloe beams at her. "Yes." She gives Aubrey a peck on the lips. "Good morning sunshine." She gives her girlfriend an innocent smile, like she hasn't just been trying to wake her up for the past ten minutes. "Let's do something today."

Aubrey sighs and flops down on her pillow. "It's too hot." She mutters. They have the ceiling fan on high and another fan sitting on the nightstand continuously blowing cold air toward the bed. Her tank top and workout shorts ensemble are not doing much to help with the middle of summer heat either. "Let's stay inside. Or go to the pool."

Chloe gives Aubrey the puppy dog look. "We went to the pool yesterday." They've lived in their new apartment complex for almost a month and have definitely made use of the complex swimming pool. Along with the rest of the residents. They only have three weeks left until their senior year at Barden and, as much as she enjoys laying around and tanning, Chloe wants to have a few more fun stories to share when she goes back to school.

No matter how hard she tries, Aubrey has never been able to resist Chloe's puppy dog eyes. It's just too hard. "What do you want to do?" She says with an inward sigh. She hates giving in and only Chloe can make her budge. She'd never admit it…but she doesn't mind all that much.

With a smile, Chloe snuggles against Aubrey, tucking herself against the blonde's side and pressing her face against the crook of her neck. Aubrey's skin is beaded with perspiration from the inescapable Atlanta heat and Chloe kisses her neck and the underside of her jaw. Even though having Chloe so close does nothing to help Aubrey's naturally hot-nature, she doesn't push the redhead away. If anything she draws her closer and tries to remember why she was so dead-set against waking up.

"Let's go to the zoo." Chloe says, pressing a kiss against Aubrey's temple. "I haven't been since I was a kid."

Aubrey wrinkles her nose. "It's too hot." She protests again. "You want to walk around in this humidity?"

Chloe shrugs. "It won't be so bad. It'll be fun, seeing all the animals and stuff. They have red pandas there…" She says temptingly.

One of Chloe's favorite memories of Aubrey comes from the first day they met. Their RA had insisted on holding a dorm floor get-together so all the new residents could make new friends and figure out who their neighbors were. They'd played a variety of different (mostly stupid) getting to know you games and one of the questions had involved all the residents standing in a circle and talking about their favorite things. When it came to naming their favorite animals, most of the residents had answered with the requisite 'dog,' 'cat,' or 'dolphin' but Aubrey had told everyone that her favorite animal was a red panda, which had been both random and adorable as far as Chloe had been concerned. In spite of having been born and raised in Atlanta, Aubrey has never been to the zoo and has never seen the red pandas there, which is a tragedy in Chloe's mind.

Aubrey seems to brighten a little at this. "Well…it could be fun I guess." She mutters. "It's just so hot."

Chloe sits up, brushing her curls away from her face. "So you just want to sit around the apartment all day?" She arches an eyebrow. "That's not the Aubrey Posen I know." She challenges.

Ever since the beginning of summer, Aubrey has been in a funk. Chloe finds this perfectly understandable, of course, seeing as she's been for all intents and purposes disowned for her less than perfect performance at the Lincoln Center in May. Their plans to get an off-campus apartment together were put on the fast track when Aubrey called Chloe to let her know that she was currently homeless, not that Chloe minds because she's enjoyed living with Aubrey since their sophomore year of college. But none of that changes the fact that her Aubrey has not been herself recently and even though she's steadily getting back to her usual self, Chloe feels like she still needs a little prodding in the right direction.

Aubrey makes a face at her and Chloe counters with a pouty look. "We can take a picnic." The redhead suggests. "And you've never even been! It'll be fun…looking at animals…getting exercise."

"Okay, why not?" Aubrey questions, sitting up as well. "A picnic sounds fun. And if there are going to be red pandas involved how can I say no?"

Chloe squeals in delight and claps her hands. "Hooray! Okay, let's have breakfast and get dressed and make our picnic." She grabs Aubrey's hand and pulls her out of bed.

"You really are like a little kid." Aubrey says affectionately as she follows Chloe into the kitchen. She wonders how long Chloe had been awake without her; judging by the plates of scrambled eggs, toast, waffles and bacon, she'd been doing her best to entertain herself for quite some time.

They eat and get dressed and Chloe refuses to let Aubrey get online and research an itinerary for their trip. "It's just the zoo, Bree." She points out. "We don't need a strategy."

During the drive to the zoo they alternate between singing along at the top of their lungs to Aubrey's The Band Perry CD and talking about the animals they want to be sure to see when they get there. Somehow Chloe also manages to convince Aubrey that their summer won't be complete until they also go to the aquarium and Fernbank. "That way we can see the ocean animals and the dinosaurs too. No one has to be left out."

Even though Chloe vetoed Aubrey's attempts to plan the trip ahead of time she doesn't win the argument against using a map and Aubrey unfolds the park issued map as Chloe drags her over to the flamingo pool right by the entrance. "I loved the flamingos when I was a kid." Chloe remarks, leaning against the railing as she watches the cluster of pink birds. "I thought it was cool how they could just stand on one leg for hours."

"Did you know that they're pink because of the food that they eat?" Aubrey questions, still scanning the map. "They're naturally brown or white."

Chloe glances over her shoulder and smiles fondly at her girlfriend. "Who needs Google when you have Aubrey Posen?" She plucks the map out of Aubrey's hands. "Pretty sure we won't get lost Bree. You're not even looking at the animals." She points out.

Aubrey pouts for a second before conceding. "You're right. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to see everything."

Chloe takes Aubrey's hand as they walk away from the flamingos and toward the African themed area of the zoo. The zoo is packed full of children talking a mile a minute at tired parents and exasperated babysitters and there are groups of people standing in front of the different exhibits and taking pictures on their phones and pointing out the various animals to their friends. The heat doesn't seem to be bothering most of the animals in this part of the zoo; the zebras are grazing and the rhinoceroses are sunning themselves in the dirt.

"If you could be any animal, what would you be?" Chloe questions as they come to stand in front of the huge open exhibit containing zebras and giraffes and other peacefully grazing animals.

Aubrey hums thoughtfully as she takes Chloe's question into serious consideration. She's never really thought about it before. "Probably some kind of bird. I always thought that it would be nice to fly."

"Well you've definitely got the singing thing down." Chloe points out, smiling even though Aubrey's answer makes her a little sad. It's not hard to figure out why someone like Aubrey would find the ability to fly enticing. "I think I would be a panda. They just sit around and sleep and eat all day."

Across from the African Plains exhibit are the meerkats and that is, naturally, where they head next, with Chloe leading the way. Chloe smiles and crouches down so she's level with the group of meerkats on the other side of the glass. The little creatures are a blur of activity, hopping around and digging holes and studying the humans on the other side of the enclosure.

"A panda doesn't sound like you at all." Aubrey argues. "You seem more like these little guys."

"I'll take that." Chloe says with a nod, her smile growing wider as she watches a meerkat pop up from one of the holes and glance around before disappearing underground again. "They don't seem to be short on energy."

Aubrey raises an eyebrow. "Hmm, like someone else I know." She gives Chloe a playful nudge, smiling at the redhead.

From the meerkats, they head over to the lion exhibit, which has both an indoor and outdoor part to the enclosure. There are dozens of people pressed up against the glass, trying to get a look at the big cats lounging around on the other side. Aubrey can't help but smile at the look of wonder she sees on one little girl's face; the girl's forehead and palms are smashed against the glass and her eyes are wide as she looks at the large male lion laying just feet away from where she's standing. Chloe notices her looking and smiles. "That was totally me as a kid." She remarks.

"I have no doubt." Aubrey agrees, reaching out and linking her pinkie with Chloe's.

"I can't believe your parents never brought you here as a kid." Chloe says with a disappointed shake of her head. "Every kid should go to the zoo."

Instead of replying, Aubrey says, "Did you know that the female lions are the ones who do all the work? They do the hunting but the male lion still gets to eat first and they have to wait until he's done."

Chloe definitely knows a subject change when she sees one, but she's willing to let it go. They didn't come here to talk about Aubrey's parents, after all. In fact, they came here to pretty much do the opposite. "Just like a man." Chloe wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "Look at him. Just 'lion' around." She can't help but crack a smile at her own joke.

Aubrey scoffs and rolls her eyes at the redhead. "Nice one, Beale. Have you always been so corny?"

"I'm hilarious, thank you very much." Chloe follows Aubrey out of the viewing area and back into the bright summer sunshine. She lifts a hand to shade her eyes against the glare, squinting. "I can't believe I left my sunglasses in the car."

Aubrey takes off her glasses and hands them over to Chloe. "The sun isn't bothering me." She says when Chloe tries to protest. "And I can see the animals better like this anyway." She hopes that Chloe doesn't notice the way that she squints to let her eyes adjust to the change in lighting. "So, where to next?"

"Definitely the elephants." Chloe decides, putting on Aubrey's glasses. "They're one of my favorites."

They stand shoulder to shoulder as they watch the elephants using their trunks to pull the leaves off the trees and stuff them into their mouths. "I sort of feel like I'm in a Disney movie." Aubrey remarks. "We just left Simba and now we're visiting Dumbo."

"I find it hard to believe that these guys are going to take off and fly anytime soon." Chloe points out. "Why do they call elephants pachyderms anyway?"

"A pachyderm is really any animal with thick skin." Aubrey replies instantly. "Not just an elephant."

Chloe arches an eyebrow. "Okay, that was totally a test. How do you know that?"

Aubrey shrugs, glancing back toward the elephants. "My parents made me join an academic decathlon team when I was in high school."

"You should go on _Jeopardy_." Chloe suggests. "You would totes be the best player and that would be an easy way to get the money we need for our after-college-road-trip."

Aubrey nods, even though she is skeptical both about going on _Jeopardy_ and about this graduation road-trip that Chloe seems to have set her mind on over the past few weeks. Apparently Chloe has decided that what they really need is a change of scenery. Driving across the country to California is Chloe's answer to all of their problems; though, the way that Chloe talks about their life a year from now, it doesn't sound like they're going to have any problems at all. According to Chloe, they're going to not only lead the Barden Bellas to a first place win at the Lincoln Center but Aubrey is also going to graduate at the top of her class, Chloe is going to have her own diploma to frame, Aubrey's parents are going to welcome her back home with open arms and now they're going to have an endless supply of money for this road-trip. Sometimes Aubrey wishes that life really was as easy as Chloe can make it sound.

Leaving the elephants behind, they start heading toward the back part of the zoo, where the giant pandas and, of course, the red pandas have their habitats. Chloe lets out a squeal of excitement and grabs Aubrey's hand, dragging her toward the lemur exhibit. "Oh my gosh, how could I forget about these guys!" She questions, watching as the adorable creatures swing from the branches and chitter at each other. "They're my favorite."

Aubrey watches the lemurs. "They're a little weird looking."

Chloe gapes at her. "You shut your mouth Posen! How can you even say that? They're adorable." She looks back at the lemurs. "She didn't mean it guys; she doesn't know what cute looks like."

"I think you're pretty cute." Aubrey says defensively.

Chloe won't be swayed. "Now you're just trying to sweet talk me. It's not going to work. I can't believe you think lemurs are weird looking." She shakes her head.

"They are. A little." Aubrey protests. "Look at their eyes."

"Humph. My girlfriend hates cute things. Okay. Good to know." Chloe nods thoughtfully.

"Oh stop it." Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Drama queen."

Chloe sticks her tongue out at Aubrey and Aubrey can't help but smile, giving Chloe a quick kiss. "Sorry. I'll never insult lemurs again." She assures the redhead.

"Good." Chloe nods once more. "I guess I can forgive you."

As they walk away from the lemur exhibit, Aubrey sighs and lifts her hair off the back of her neck, fanning her sweaty skin with her free hand. Even putting her thick hair up in a ponytail has done little to alleviate the heat and between the sun and humidity she feels like she's seconds away from heat stroke. Not the mention the heat is draining and makes her feel like they've been running a marathon, not walking around Zoo Atlanta. She doesn't know how the animals can stand it.

"Let's find some shade and take a break." Aubrey suggests. "I'm burning up."

Chloe doesn't protest and they find a stone table to sit at. Aubrey continues fanning herself with her hand, trying to figure out a way to twist up her hair so that it stays off the back of her neck. Chloe hands her the map to fan herself with. "I'll go grab a bottle of water." She offers, getting to her feet. "Try not to melt." Now it's Aubrey's turn to stick her tongue out.

When Chloe comes back to the table she has a bottle of water in one hand and a quickly melting ice cream in the other. Aubrey raises an eyebrow as she takes the bottle of water from Chloe. "Isn't it a little early for ice cream? We haven't even had lunch."

"Okay, Mom. It's never too early for ice cream." Chloe rolls her eyes at Aubrey. "I thought it might help me cool off but it's melting faster than I can eat it. And it's making my teeth cold."

Aubrey takes a grateful drink from the water bottle before pressing the cold bottle against the back of her neck. She shivers, finally feeling cool, though she knows it's not going to last for long.

Chloe tries to hand the ice cream over to Aubrey. "Help me eat this before it melts everywhere."

"No, do you know how many empty calories are probably in that? We'll have to add like three extra hours of cardio." Aubrey protests, shaking her head.

Chloe grimaces. "It's the summer, you're not allowed to say the word cardio." She licks bit of ice cream off her fingers but it doesn't make much of a difference because the ice cream continues to melt. "I swear Alice only invented those cardio exercises so she could kill us before Regionals."

Aubrey takes another drink from the water bottle and already the water feels less cool than it did before. She takes one look at Chloe and can't help but laugh. "You're making a huge mess." She says, her voice laced with affection as she looks at the other girl. "I think the ice cream was definitely a bad idea."

"I think you're right." Chloe says with a nod, tossing the remains of the ice cream in a nearby trashcan. "Next time I'll just stick the frozen lemonade." She grimaces as she looks down at her sticky hands. "Yeah, definitely a bad idea."

Aubrey pours some of the water from her bottle on Chloe's hands and even though it's not a perfect solution, it makes a huge difference. Chloe puts the bottle into her purse and they start walking down the pathway once more. They pass the petting zoo, which is packed with children and toddlers petting sheep and goats or trying to feed handfuls of grass to the animals. They also stop to look at the kangaroos laying around in the dirt; unfortunately that's all they're doing.

"They're boring if they're not hopping around." Chloe remarks and one of the kangaroo glances in her direction, swiveling its ears around like it has not only understood her comment but finds it annoying.

"Kangaroos can jump up to forty feet." Aubrey chimes in helpfully, using the map to fan herself. "And they don't walk at all. They have to hop everywhere."

Chloe smiles at her. "You're like a walking encyclopedia. Seriously, where were you when I was trying to pass my high school science classes?"

"Well, my father always says-" Aubrey stops herself before she can utter whatever infamous Marc Posen platitude had just sprung to mind. She clears her throat and looks down at her hands. "Never mind." She mumbles.

Chloe takes her hand and laces their fingers together. "It's okay, Bree." She says softly, giving the blonde's hand a squeeze. Aubrey nods but doesn't look at her girlfriend. "You're not allowed to be sad at the zoo. It's one of the rules."

Aubrey lifts her head. "I don't think that's one of the official rules." She protests weakly.

Chloe leans forward and kisses the corner of Aubrey's mouth. Aubrey smiles and Chloe can't help but smile back. She sincerely believes that Aubrey doesn't realize how contagious her smile is, or how just being around the blonde has the ability to make Chloe's day a thousand times better.

"Maybe not." Chloe acknowledges Aubrey's point. "But it should be." She tugs Aubrey away from the kangaroos. "C'mon. We've still got red pandas to see."

Before they reach the red panda exhibit they pass the tiger habitat and it doesn't make sense to just walk by the tigers, especially when Chloe finds out that there are two tiger cubs frolicking around on the other side of the glass. Aubrey is pretty sure that Chloe would stand there and watch the two cubs play and chase each other for hours if she was given the opportunity.

"When I was in second grade, we did a class play and there were all these different animals and stuff and I really wanted to be the dog but this really mean girl in my class said that she was going to be the dog and I had to be the tiger because I was a ginger so I pushed her off the stage." Chloe tells Aubrey as she watches the tiger cubs. "Then I wasn't allowed to be in the play at all."

Aubrey laughs and shakes her head. "You would have made a cute tiger." She assures the other girl. It's not hard to picture a pint-sized Chloe with painted on stripes and whiskers. "But what kind of play was it where there was a dog _and_ a tiger?"

Chloe just shrugs. "You know…we may never know the answer to that. Let's just chalk it up to the fact that the same person who wrote the play also thought it would be a good idea to try and wrangle a bunch of seven year olds and make them act so…"

"I see your point." Aubrey says with a decisive nod. "Ready?" She tilts her chin toward the entrance of the exhibit.

Chloe hesitates for a minute before standing up. "I guess." She glances back at the tiger cubs. "They're just so cute. I don't understand how people can resist the adorableness of baby animals."

"I don't think many people can." Aubrey remarks as they walk back out into the summer sunshine. Though, it seems a little less bright than it did before. Gray clouds are starting to group together in the previously cloudless sky, covering the sun and forming an ominous looking mass. "Is it supposed to rain?"

Chloe follows Aubrey's gaze skyward. "No, it'll probably just pass over us. You know how it is in the summer." She takes Aubrey's hand again. "We have to see the leopards. And then the red pandas. Oh, and the otters! They're my favorite."

Aubrey laughs. "I'm starting to think that they're _all_ your favorite."

"I'm an equal opportunity animal lover." Chloe assures her girlfriend as they move from the tiger exhibit to the Clouded Leopards next door.

From the leopards they move to the Sun Bears, just because they're right in the same area and, according to Chloe, no one gives the Sun Bears enough love and attention because they're weird looking and probably not even bears.

"Okay, so why is it okay for you to say something is weird looking?" Aubrey protests. "When I say something like that, it's like a huge insult to all the animals in the world."

"Because you said that _lemurs_ were weird looking Bree. Lemurs." Chloe says slowly, as though speaking to a particularly dull child. "Everyone knows that lemurs are absolutely adorable and not weird looking at all."

Aubrey rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "You're absolutely right. Everything should have freakishly big eyes and little human hands."

After their visit to the neglected Sun Bears (though Aubrey feels like Chloe might have a point because there's no one else in the exhibit but the two of them) they spend the next several minutes watching the Asian River Otters chase each other around and sleep and swim. The sky above is growing more and more cloudy with each passing second and Aubrey has the suspicion that Chloe's comment about the weather just passing them by isn't going to prove true at all. While short-lived summer storms are pretty common, she really doesn't want to be caught in one of them.

With all the other animals behind them (with a few exceptions) they finally reach the red panda habitat. It's smaller than a lot of the other enclosures, but the four furry animals that live inside still have plenty of things to climb and grass to munch on and hide in. The zoo's resident red pandas are all curled up together in a heap on top of a wooden platform, snoozing in the hot summer sun. Aubrey can't help but smile when she sees them lounging around and Chloe has a smile of her own just from watching Aubrey. She's pretty sure that she can count the number of times she's seen Aubrey unabashedly happy since her parents kicked her out of the house on one hand.

Aubrey's pretty sure that she's never seen something so cute. Except for maybe Chloe. How can an animal be so cute when it just sits around and sleeps? "They're much cuter in person." She remarks. "This puts those Animal Planet documentaries to shame."

"We should get one for a pet." Chloe takes out her phone and takes a picture of the sleeping animals. "Imagine if we came home from classes and it was sleeping on our couch. Oh! We could name it Bella and take it to Bellas' rehearsals and train it to-"

"I'm pretty sure it would be illegal to have one of them for a pet." Aubrey interrupts with a smile. "But that would be pretty great."

Chloe pouts. "That's no fun." She mumbles. Her mood instantly changes and her face brightens. "We should get a cat or dog instead!"

"Chlo, we've only been in our apartment for a month. Maybe we should start with a plant." Aubrey suggests.

"Yeah, but we can't train a plant to dance along to 'I Saw the Sign.'" Chloe says as though this is completely common sense.

Aubrey arches an eyebrow. "Not sure we could train a red panda to do that either." She's also not sure they can train eight new recruits but she'll save those worries for another time.

One of the red pandas stretches and yawns and if they both happen to utter a squeal because of the utter cuteness of it all, well, you can hardly blame them. Chloe snaps five more pictures of the red pandas on her phone and thinks about using one of them as the picture that shows up whenever Aubrey calls her but she's pretty sure that she would enjoy seeing a picture of the blonde pop up on her phone more than a couple of sleeping red pandas.

"Did you know that red pandas aren't really bears?" Aubrey questions. "They're more closely related to raccoons or weasels."

"They are way cuter than weasels." Chloe remarks.

"And lemurs." Aubrey adds, smirking when Chloe shoots her a look. But even Chloe has to admit that she's right about that.

A rumble of thunder finally pulls their attention away from the animals. Aubrey frowns, wrinkling her nose. "I guess we should probably go."

"Nah, it'll pass." Chloe protests. As if to prove her wrong, there's another, louder, rumble of thunder. "Okay, maybe we should go."

Aubrey casts one last glance at the red pandas before following Chloe away from the exhibit and down the path that leads toward the entrance of the zoo. Everyone else in the park seems to have the same idea and it looks like a mass exodus heading toward the front of the zoo.

"This was a good idea." Aubrey says, smiling over at Chloe. "I'm glad you talked me into it."

Chloe returns her smile. "I'm just full of good ideas. When are you going to just learn to trust me." She teases.

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Okay, Beale."

"Tomorrow we'll go to the aquarium and see the sea otters!" Chloe grins. "They're my favorite."

Aubrey laughs and laces her fingers together with Chloe's. "Yeah, I know. They're all your favorite."

By the time they reach the entrance, fat drops of rain are falling from the sky, making the air even more thick and humid. Chloe and Aubrey duck into the gift shop, which is already packed with people who no doubt have the same idea they do about waiting out the rain. There are so many people crowded in the space and Aubrey begins to feel claustrophobic. "I think we should just go. It doesn't look like it's going to stop raining anytime soon." She remarks.

Aubrey turns to gauge Chloe's opinion but the redhead is nowhere to be found. "Chlo?" Aubrey glances around but her girlfriend appears to have been swallowed up by the crowd. Aubrey makes her way through the gift shop and finally spies Chloe near the entrance. "Where'd you disappear to?"

Chloe smiles and shrugs. "Just trying to get a look at the rain outside. It looks like it's getting worse."

"Let's just go." Aubrey says again. "I don't mind getting a little wet."

Chloe takes Aubrey's hand as they leave the gift shop and she breaks into a run, pulling the blonde along behind her. They run through the parking lot and Aubrey doesn't bother with trying to avoid the quickly forming puddles or stop to care that she's getting soaked through and her hair is sticking to the side of her face. She's sure she looks like an idiot because of the huge grin on her face but she doesn't care about that either.

When they finally get to the sanctuary of the car, Chloe is grinning and laughing too. She beams at Aubrey as she pushes her wet hair off her cheeks and forehead. "Guess I was wrong about this just blowing over."

Aubrey grins at Chloe. Chloe with her sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks and damp hair. She thinks it's a little unfair how beautiful she is. She leans across the arm rest and kisses Chloe, slipping her fingers through her hair. Chloe puts her hands on Aubrey's face and kisses her until they're both breathless.

"Thank you." Aubrey says softly when they finally pull away to catch their breath. "I really needed this."

"I had fun." Chloe says, pulling Aubrey in for another kiss. "I always have fun with you, Bree."

Aubrey smiles, her cheeks flushing pleasantly. "Me too." She wonders how, without even trying, Chloe makes her feel like the most special person in the world.

On the drive home they alternate between talking about the trip and sharing a comfortable silence. "I guess we'll have to save the picnic for another day." Aubrey remarks as they finally pull into the apartment complex.

"We should have a picnic in the living room." Chloe suggests. "We can move the coffee table and spread out the blanket and, even better, we can have a glass of wine."

"Sounds good." Aubrey agrees as they make a mad dash for their front door. "But first I want a shower and some dry clothes. I look like a hot mess."

They step into the living room and kick off their wet shoes and drop their wet purses on the counter. "I think you look aca-awesome." Chloe argues. She smiles at Aubrey. "Beautiful in fact."

Aubrey rolls her eyes. "You're a sweet-talker Beale."

Chloe slips her arms around Aubrey's shoulders and kisses her lightly, almost teasingly. She tries to pull away, nipping at Aubrey's bottom lip, but Aubrey doesn't let her go far. She pulls Chloe back to her, kissing her with a passion that almost borders on desperation. One hand slips through Chloe's hair, the other pressing against the small of her back and against the bare skin that's been exposed where her shirt has bunched up. Chloe's skin is prickled with goose bumps and Aubrey doesn't know whether it's because of the damp clothes or her touch. She has a few guesses, seeing as she has some goose bumps of her own that she knows the cause of.

They manage to make it to the bedroom but just barely, leaving a trail of damp clothes behind them.

* * *

It continues to rain as afternoon turns to evening, the window panes rattling with the occasional rumbles of thunder. Aubrey is in the kitchen, uncorking a bottle of wine while Chloe spreads out the blanket for their picnic. Aubrey feels warm, comfortable and content, happier than she remembers being in a long time. In moments like this one, it's hard to remember why she has such a hard time believing Chloe when she insists that everything will be okay.

When Aubrey walks back into the living room, she finds that Chloe has already laid out their picnic food on the blanket. There's also a tiny, stuffed red panda sitting on the blanket. Aubrey raises an eyebrow. "Chlo, what's that?"

Chloe gives her an innocent smile. "Nothing. Just something for you." She kisses Aubrey on the cheek when the blonde sits down next to her. "We might not be able to have a _real_ red panda but I thought this one would still make a good Bellas' mascot."

Aubrey kisses Chloe, slipping her arm around her waist. "Thank you. You didn't have to get me anything." She picks up the stuffed red panda and pets the soft fur. Now Chloe's disappearing act in the gift shop makes sense.

Chloe shrugs. "I know. But I wanted to. You should have a souvenir from your first trip to the zoo." She points out.

"It was fun." Aubrey admits. "We should do that more often."

Chloe smiles. "Well, we still have three weeks before classes and Bellas' rehearsals."

Aubrey is looking forward to spending those next three weeks, and all the weeks after that, with Chloe.

Later that night, Chloe is finishing up with washing the plates and glasses and loading the dishwasher before going to bed. Living with Aubrey has definitely made her into more of a housekeeper. When she walks back into the bedroom, Chloe is surprised to see Aubrey sprawled out on top of the blankets, asleep. It's a rare occurrence when Aubrey falls asleep before Chloe; Chloe knows that Aubrey often keeps herself awake tossing and turning and dwelling over regrets and perceived mistakes, so it's nice to see her sleeping so easily. The fact that the stuffed red panda is sitting on Aubrey's pillow only makes Chloe's smile grow.

Chloe slips into bed and curls herself around Aubrey, slipping her arms around Aubrey's waist. She rests her head against Aubrey's shoulder and promptly falls asleep.

**Fin**


End file.
